In January 2023, LGBTQ+ activist Davis Mac-Iyalla was installed as a chief of the Yamonransa Nkusukum area in central Ghana. With the title of Amankorehen, the Nigerian-born activist’s role is “like a foreign minister for the traditional area” and a huge honour for him. But during the ceremony he was nearly thrown from his platform in an act he says was “set up” by homophobic figures to “disgrace” him. As part of the ceremony, Mac-Iyalla was carried through the streets on a platform called a palanquin, and a fall from this to the ground could have killed or seriously injured him. The local media, who Mac-Iyalla did not invite to the event, managed to “spy” on the incident and published the reactionary headline “Gay rights activist installed as a chief”, knowing it would be a “serious issue”. Mac-Iyalla tells PinkNews that reporters framed the near-fall as though he “fell off the palanquin because I am gay”.